PITTSBURGH — Could it be time for Kevin Cheveldayoff to channel his inner Monty Hall?

Hall became famous for his role on Let’s Make a Deal and we certainly think the timing could be right for the Winnipeg Jets general manager to make a significant splash at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh.

Depending on who you talk to, there seem to be an increasing number of high-profile players who could be in play, for the right price of course.

And while we don’t expect the Jets to be a suitor for guys like Rick Nash or Roberto Luongo, what about getting involved in talks for someone like Bobby Ryan or Jordan Staal?

Players like Ryan and Staal don’t come onto the market often and both are the type of big, franchise-changing centres that the Jets are looking for.

However, it’s unlikely the Jets either have or would be willing to part with the pieces required to get a deal done.

Most fantasy hockey general managers figure they could cobble together the perfect deal to fleece the other GM into sending you his talented player for a combination of bottom feeders and prospects who most likely won’t pan out.

That’s not what we’re suggesting.

After all, it was only one year ago when reports had the Jets considering a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers that centred around Mike Richards and Evander Kane and the seventh overall selection going the other way.

As great as Richards would have looked great in Jets colours, that price tag was obviously too steep and Cheveldayoff, understandably, took a pass.

The Flyers moved Richards to the Los Angeles Kings instead and all he did was help that franchise win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

The Jets, meanwhile, saw Kane go from a 19-goal guy to a 30-goal sniper who is trending upward.

A year later, the Jets are still looking to improve their depth and get bigger down the middle.

In fact, they’re trying to expand the depth throughout the system and the draft is key to making that happen.

Having Cheveldayoff pull off a blockbuster deal is a possibility, but it’s far more likely a trade could be to package something up and moving their first-round pick at nine for a chance to move up.

“If you polled all 30 teams and they were honest with you, they’d maybe have a lot of the same guys in the Top-10, but they’d have them in a different order,” said Cheveldayoff. “It does lend itself to a lot of intrigue and certainly if we’re going to keep our pick, we’re going to be listening to see who goes ahead of us, with interest.

“There’s lots of interesting players. We’re fortunate that at nine, if we stay there, that we’re going to get a player that we feel is going to be able to contribute at some point and time to our organization.”

While there’s no doubt the Jets might still be able to get an impact player at nine, it’s probably worth the risk to move a player or prospect to ensure you get the guy you want.

Whether it’s a forward or a defenceman the Jets have their sights on with that first round pick, leaving things to chance is a somewhat risky proposition.

Sure, it could still turn out that player is still available, but what if he’s not and you’re left wondering what might have been?

The Jets are moving in the right direction and we understand that the patient approach, with a focus on building through the draft, is the foundation they’re going to build on.

But there is ample work to be done and pulling the trigger on the right deal this weekend just might speed up the process.